Homebrew d20 Game Prep

 

Ive always quite liked skill systems and stat rolls and for me peak TSR D&D was 1985 with the Dungeoneers Survival Guide which probably kept me playing D&D a few more years before I went Basic Roleplaying Playing BRP and TSR Marvel which I still play and is my current game. I got back into D&D 12 years ago as ppl were becoming interested in playing it so while sick I wrote my version of BX from memory and started this blog. This became my Elfmaids & Octopi homebrew rules which I rewrite every few years. 

I really liked the Dungeoneers Survival Guide for giving you additional things to do and face but also for the skills and even the survival and crafting rules. I didn't like they had various pluses or minuses unique to each skill that were negligible and petty so we dumped them. I thought lots of stuff in OA could have been in more settings like martial arts skills, family and honour (Pendragon does it). 

I got back into old D&D because it had smaller stat blocks than BRP for enemies so i could prep a adventure and stats on one sheet quickly. Modern DnD5 is not really like this. As I have been solo testing some stuff the complexity of these games increases by 5th level and that is like breaks on being fun to play and more like a job. I quit XP as it also consumes time and encourages players to crack the game-advancing system by killing and looting not live in a campaign setting. I find money is at least interesting and has game world effects. Possibly high level play works better with 2-4 players. I usually encourage all those low level followers and meatsheilds to be minding your property by 5th lv rather than adventuring due to this time increase at hight levels.

I like d20 stat based rolls for saves and skills and use the above table. A seasoned level of skill (actually having a relevant skill) with a typical challenge gets a full attribute score to roll under on a d20. Prime attributes for classes also count as seasoned. Unskilled but plausible skill attempts are half (round up). A clueless idiot can try a hard skill task but only has their ability score bonus if any as a chance. This last one is how unskilled people find secret doors while moving quickly in a dungeon. Mostly I let people try stuff at a reduced chance and consider other penalties to help or hinder characters. Good plans and optimal situations always help. 

If a character searches hard the exact right place they should find the hidden secret there. Skills are more of a shortcut and not always a replacement for gaming.  

Easy task would be one a skilled person would do in their job without thinking about it but more challenging for someone without professional skills. 

An average task usually has an element of haste, rush or risky vs doing the same job with lots of time in a lab. These tasks do have an element of risk and danger or expertise making it harder for someone without professional skills.

Hard tasks are risky and dangerous for experts and very hard for the inexperienced and very unlikely to make it.

I have considered changing combat more but for now it's roll high for a target number. One change I am making is no mortal can get more than +20 total to hit or AC. You can keep increasing your total but only +20 total can count. Divine monsters and demigods can go higher. Gods in my game don't like +5 weapons and having a +6 one gets gods after you. One result of this is fighters with the highest scores can do increasingly reckless stuff and lots of hit penalties don't stop them much which helps for swashbuckling stuff like hit that guy on the head while swinging with a prince under your arm. Various abilities adding a +1 or +2 become more meaningless as does -4 to hit an invisible foe when your fighter has a very high plus.

I do want my game to at least to be playable to 20th where you are at risk of being made a demigod. Worse still your apotheosis will be painful and tragic for gravitas when the gods painfully pressgang you into immortality. As I make ppl start with kinda meek stats each level will get you +1 on a stat. I'm fine with going from a wretched sewer urchin at 1st to a paragon of perfection by tenth. Im incorporated Lv0 into my core character gen literally for plying session zeros with and making simpler starting characters for noobs. It can be skipped for people later joining in or replacement characters. It kinda gives you a few benefits for suffering as a weakling.

Im also thinking basic monster stat blocks could just have class levels added to them like at least fighter or thief. Works for all kinds of creatures simply. A basic goblin +1 level fighter might be a veteran or a dragon + 12 level wizard seems fine really. It's quick and simple really and will make dangerous villains fast.